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June 03, 2014

The Devil Made Me Do It:Sexuality is terrifying to some fringe fundamentalists

I started this piece in an entirely different fashion. You see, I ran across a piece on how our reactions to transgendered individuals so often reflect traditional gender roles. For instance, transwomen find themselves at such peril because the only thing worse than being a woman is being a man who exhibits the characteristics of women.

One quote I ran across was from former Navy chaplain Dr. Gordon Klingenschmitt. Klingenschmitt said:

“You know, there’s not just a demon of deception here or confusion or sexual immorality. But there is a demon of rape inside of this movement to violate your daughters.”

A demon of rape?How prolific can that idea actually be?Well, surprisingly--quite prolific.In addition to numerous Yahoo! Answers--seriously, can we talk sex ed again, because a disturbing number of people are walking around every day believing that demons routinely rape them simply because they experience erotic dreams or the desire to masturbate--I ran across a Charisma Magazine article from 2013 that talked about sexual demons.

For nearly two decades, Contessa Adams felt as though she had no power against the demonic violators of her body. She felt trapped in secrecy and shame and knew that the demons tormenting her wanted things to stay that way.

But God had another agenda for Adams when she found Christ in 1979. The former stripper has a ministry through which she exposes one of Satan's darkest secrets—sexual demons.

According to Adams, sexual demons often prey on people through nightmares and erotic dreams. In addition, the demons can draw people into homosexuality and even cause suicidal thoughts, when people believe they "could not find that level of pleasure with mortal people".

Adam says:

Fear is their forerunner. If you get paralyzed by fear, they actually will come and rape you. But if you draw near to God, Satan has to flee. Satan's job is to suggest that you not draw near to God, so that he does not have to flee.

The article really illuminates the fundamental fear of human sexuality that underlines many fringe Christian doctrines. What many of us would describe as normal experiences--the occasional erotic dream, for instance--terrifies these people into pure superstitious fallback position. They are literally in a spiritual panic room over a wet dream.

I've worked with women who had what is called a spirit of incubus (some call it a spirit husband). It is a sex demon that will stimulate the woman sexually at night, as if it were a man. These women will often tell of how this thing appears to them at night, holds them down in bed, and rapes them!

"I know there are countless women that this (demons sexually abusing them) is happening to, because every Christian woman I have spoken to about it (sex demons), 9 out of 10 it has happened to." NINE out of TEN!!

These fears mirror a longstanding tradition of sexual demons within our collective human existence. From succubi to one-eyed bat winged creatures, we have a rich imagination when it comes to sexuality. Sex being such a core biological necessity, this makes perfect sense. Denying ourselves the experience of sexuality is denying our most base instincts.

One would think that these demons would be a scapegoat for crimes and simple human passion, but according to sources within these fringe sects, they are not.

Are we seeking to avoid personal responsibility of our sins, by blaming them on demons? If you read my teaching on Flesh and Demons, it will show you how this is not true at all. We can't go around blaming demons for our failures. However, having a spirit of lust or perversion, can make it miserable on the person to resist those types of sins because of the intense pressure that is put upon them. This is the purpose of casting out such spirits, it is to relieve the person from such pressure or tendency to sin. People who have been delivered of such spirits will likely tell you that there is a big difference between being tempted from the outside and being driven pressured from the inside.

So, if you, like me were wondering when you read Klingenschmitt's comments, whether there truly are people that believe that there are demons of rape, the answer is yes.

Honestly, it doesn't surprise me. Growing up in a culture where sexuality is demonized except for a very small acceptable frame of usage...well, I can completely see how they wind up legitimately demonizing it. When you deny part of your very nature, it could very easily, in my opinion, begin to feel like it is tormenting you, completely independent of your own desire to fight and suppress it. When you have no reference for desire, when desire some alien evil thing, it's natural to fear and loathe it. When you are told that you should not desire sexual pleasure...well, it would be super easy to be terrified of that pleasure should you happen upon it.

If I had any advice for these people, it would most definitely be: Stop denying yourself. Accept your sexuality and its naturalness, and I bet you will see a remarkable improvement. No exorcism needed.